New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has extended its deadline to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) for FASTags till February 29. This is a move that will come as a relief to a large number of vehicle owners.
Meanwhile, January 31 was fixed as the previous date. While Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. (IHMCL), which comes under NHAI, is assessing how many customers are still out of the FASTag KYC compliance net, only seven lakh multiple tags have been surrendered out of around 1.3 crore such tags, sources confirmed.
FASTag is an electronic toll collection method that uses radio frequency identification technology to enable automatic toll payments at toll booths. This is initiated to save time and congestion at toll plazas by permitting vehicles to pass easily without stopping any manual toll payment process.
FASTag uses radio frequency identification tags that are affixed to the vehicle's windshield and linked to a prepaid account. After passing a vehicle through a FASTag-enabled toll booth, the toll amount is automatically deducted from the prepaid account.
A single FASTag can be used for toll payments across India. In addition, FASTag accounts can be managed online, including recharging the prepaid balance, checking transaction history, and updating account details.
The IHMCL had earlier appealed to vehicle owners to keep only the latest purchased tag, as others would be blacklisted after the extension of the deadline.
Recently, the officials claimed that there will be no more extension of the deadline to blacklist multiple or duplicate FASTags as the NHAI initiates to implement the "one vehicle, one FASTag" norm.
For the unversed, NHAI was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1988 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. It has been set up as a central authority to develop, maintain, and manage the national highways entrusted to it by the central government. However, the authority became operational in February 1995.
The panel comprises a full-time chairman, five full-time members, and four part-time members appointed by the central government. The body has technical, financial, administrative, and vigilance wings at its headquarters. Project implementation units (PIUs), headed by a project director and supported by various technical and accounting officers, have been set up at various sites to oversee the timely completion of projects.
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